Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 February 2014
176. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the east Meath, Drogheda and south Louth water supply scheme which was included in the Water Services Investment Plan 2007-2009; if he will provide an overview of the scheme including its stage of progress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7369/14]
View answerFollowing on from the completion of the Water Services Investment Programme 2007 – 2009, the 2010 – 2013 Programme provided for the development of a comprehensive range of new water services infrastructure in Counties Louth and Meath.
The 2010 – 2013 Programme aimed to prioritise projects that targeted environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth as envisaged at that juncture. A key input to the development of the Programme was the assessment of needs prepared by local authorities, including Louth and Meath County Councils, in response to my Department’s request to the authorities in 2009 to review and prioritise their proposals for new capital works in their areas. These were subsequently appraised in the Department in the context of the funds available and key criteria that complemented those used by the authorities. Inevitably, through this process, certain projects that had been proposed had to give way to others that were more strategically important at that time, as the total value of contracts and schemes proposed by local authorities exceeded the level of resources likely to be available in the period.
The scope and format of the Programme for 2010 to 2013 was designed to better reflect ongoing environmental and economic priorities, to maximise the return on public funds being invested in the sector and to ensure that the Programme was realistic in its level of ambition.
The contracts and schemes that did not rate sufficiently for inclusion in the Programme on that occasion were those which did not feature highly on public health grounds or other environmental compliance requirements and projects that were proposed simply for capacity expansion and which in the case of water supply could be deferred, in many cases, in favour of accelerated water conservation measures. The proposed East Meath, Drogheda and South Louth Water Supply Scheme fell into this latter category. I understand that, in the interim, the local authorities have not advanced the planning of the scheme.
Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. It is currently preparing a Capital Investment Plan for 2014–2016 that will provide for the transition of projects included in the 2010-2013 Water Services Investment Programme.
